Editor’s Page

For a man whose creative point of view is often deeply nostalgic, Ralph Lauren also has a laserlike focus on the future, driving some of the world’s fastest cars and spurring his company to embrace the latest technologies. When I mentioned that this year marks the 30th anniversary of his groundbreaking Ralph Lauren Home collection and asked if a celebration was in the works, Ralph demurred, saying he “hadn’t even thought about it.” But this milestone certainly deserves accolades, as his designs for the home have been both innovative and timeless. In fact, pieces from the brand’s debut bedding line look just as smart today as they did when I saw them for the first time, three decades ago.

After a bit of persuasion, Ralph indulged my wish to salute the home collection and its impact on the way we live. Our cover story explores three private places that reflect his signature aesthetics—his urbane office on Madison Avenue, the Lauren family’s sublime estate in Bedford, New York, and the Double RL Ranch in Colorado, where he and his wife, Ricky, have created a remarkable cowboy-chic compound surrounded by 17,000 acres of mountain splendor.

Influential personal style is something we’ve come to expect from the fashion world’s leading talents. I have always been drawn to Hubert de Givenchy’s Paris apartment, which was published in Architectural Digest in 1978 and is highlighted in this month’s AD Revisits column. Its juxtaposition of opulent antiques (17th-century Boulle cabinets) and modern furniture (Knoll, Poul Kjærholm)—what the couturier called “a perfect mixture of the sumptuous and the simple”—remains boldly au courant after all these years.

I’ve kept folders of pictures of eye-catching rooms like Givenchy’s for ages, and our just-launched AD DesignFile, an online look book of thousands of photographs culled from the magazine, is my favorite new resource. From state-of-the-art kitchens to swank living rooms to stunning pools, it’s a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration—please be sure to check it out at designfile.archdigest.com.

Our website, archdigest.com, offers constant original coverage of the interior design and architecture worlds, new shops and products, travel destinations, art and cultural events, celebrity style, and high-end real estate as well as access to print features and images from the AD archives.